Means for attaching head coverings to the scalp



plr'i l54 1924. 1,496,479

J.'M.NoEL

MEANS FOR ATTACHING HEAD CVERINGS T THE SCALP Filed May 16. 1923 IN VEN TOR.

WORNEK.

Patented Apr. l5, 19524;.

` iastate savant orales.

JOSEPH IVI. NOEL, OF PORTAGE BOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

MEANS .FOR .ATTAGHING HEAD COVERINGS T0 THE SCALP.

Application filed May 16, 1923.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrir M. NOEL, a citizen of the United States, and residing in the borough of Portage, in the county of Cambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered the new, useful, and Improved Means for Attaching Head Coverings to the Scalp, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in new and improved means for attaching or anchoring a toupee, wig or other head covering to a bald or more or less hairless scalp.

More particularly my invention is intended for attaching a toupee or wig in place, but it may also be used to attach a cloth or other protection tothe scalp, as for instance for sleeping in the open air or during cold weather in a room with the windows open.

The use of a toupee is highly recommended by physicians as a preventive of colds and catarrhal afflictions in the case of persons who are bald; but many persons who have purchased toupees have found them a source of discomfort and dissatisfaction, largely due to the crude and unsatisfactory methods used for attaching or anchoring the toupee to the scalp.

The common method of attaching a toupee in place is by the use of small plasters, both surfaces of which are adhesive, the plasters being` interposed between the scalp and the toupee, one surface being stuck to the scalp and the other to the foundation or mat of the toupee. Each time the toupee is' removed from the head the plasters must be; torn free from the scalp or from the toupee. rIhe aim is to loosen the plasters from the scalp and to leave them adhering to the toupee, but very frequently the plasters tear loose. from the toupee and adhere to the scalp.v Sometimes they are partially loosened from both the scalp and the toupee. Especially in warm weather many wearers of toupees prefer to take them off for the sake of coolness and comfort when they are exercising or engaged in manual labor. Thus the toupee may be remo-ved and subsequently replaced several times in a day. Each time a` plaster is loosened from the surface to which it adheres, it loses some of its adhesive property, and in the course of a couple days or so, it becomes very unreliable and very shortly will scarcely hold at all. Then new Yplasters must be substi- Serial No. 639,249.

tuted. Even where the toupee is worn continuously from morning to night, the life of the plasters is at most four or live days.

.another difficulty is the fact that the toupee must be carefully and accurately positioned every time, it is put on, and therefore the user must stand before a mirror in replacing his toupee to prevent it being placed awry.

One of the objects which I have in view is the provision of attaching means which will enable the toupee to be taken olif with great ease and without involving the tearing loose of an adhesive anchorage.

Another object which I have in view is the provision of means of attachment which will enable the toupee to be quickly put on in accurate and proper position without the use of a mirror.

Another object which I have in view is the provision of attaching means which will not require renewal at frequent intervals but which may be used without changing for an extended period such as ten days or two weeks.

Generally speaking my new and improved method and apparatus are characterized by the provision of quickly attachable and detachable two part fasteners, one member of which is secured to the foundation of the toupee, while the other member is secured to the scalp of the wearer.

I prefer to use a plurality of two-member snap fasteners, one member, preferably the female members being attached to the foundation or mat of the toupee, while the other or male members are attached to the scalp.

I prefer to attach the members, which are attached to the toupee, by sewing, but the same may be attached thereto by adhesion.

I prefer to attach the members, which are attached to the scalp, by adhesion, which may be by the use of adhesive substance, or by suction or the like.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a practical embodiment of the principles of my invention is exemplied, Fig. l is intended to represent a plan view of a bald human scalp; Fig. 2- is an inverted plan view of a toupee intended to be app-lied to said scalp; Fig, 3 is an enlarged section taken along the line III-III in Fig. l and showing the preferred method of attaching the fastener members to the scalp; Fig.` 4 is an enlarged detail of the portion of Fig.

2 showing the preferred method of attaching the other fastener members to the foundation of the toupee, and Figs. and 6 are views similar to Fig. 3 illust-rating other methods of attaching the fastener' members.

The following is a detailed description of the drawings, reference being first had to Figs. 1, 2. 8 and s.

A represents a bald human` scalp.y 1 rep-- lresenting the ears and 2 the nose. B is the toupee, of which 3 is the sill( mat or other foundation, and t is the hair mounted on the foundation. The foundation is strength- E ened around its edge by the provision of the enforcement or web 5 which may be of the saine material as the foundation itself. .at several, preferably four, spaced apart points attac-h to the enforcement 5 the female snap soclret members G whose base flanges are provided with perforations so that the Socket members G may be permanently attached to the foundation 3 by the threads 7.

8 are the male members of the fasteners which are secured to small adhesive bases C,

' which bases are attached to the scalp by tft adhesion. rlhe bases (fl may be of any suitable character but l prefer to make them of two layers of adhesive plaster material, suchas short lengths cut from adhesive tape. Said layers are indicated at 9 and 1U in F ig. 3, the adhesive surface 11 of the layer 9 being pressed against the plain surface of the layer 10 to attach the two plaster-s together. The upper layer 9 has a hole 12 punched in it through which the head of the male fastener S is inserted so that when the two layers are stuck together the flanged base of the fastener' member 8 is secured between the two layers. The adhesive surface 13 of the layer 10 is pressed againstl the scalp .fr as indicated in Fig. 1, thus att-aching and anchoring the male inembers of the fasteners to the scalp.

fn use the bases C andthe male members 8 are assembled as shown in Fig. 3, and then the male member,s are snapped into the female mem ers 6 which are attached to the foundation 3 of Jthe toupee. The owner then properly positions the toupee on his head and presses down on the foundation over each of the fasteners in turn, until the adhesive surfaces 13 obtain a hrm smooth anchorage on the scalp at the proper points to properly position the toupee in place.

Thereafter, until the adhesion of the bases C to the scalp in course of time becomes so impaired as to be unreliable, whenever it is desired to remove the toupee all that it is necessary to do is to take hold of the foundation in turn adjacent to each of the'female socket members C and then exert aslight upward pull or jerk, thus disengaging the female members from the male members and permitting the toupee to be lifted off. lVhen it is desired to replace the toupee all that is required is to place it upon the scalp with the female members approximately registering with the male members of the fasteners, and then with slight pressureengage the female members in turn with the male members. As the male members remain adhering to the scalp during the time that the toupee isv not being worn no difficulty is experienced in properly positioning the toupee in place when it is to be resumed. It is not necessary for the owner to stand before a mirror and accurately position the toupeel but all that is necessary is simplyv to use the sense of touch to bring` the female members in turn in reg- ,istrat-ion with and then into engagement -with the male members ot the fasteners.

The wearer can thus take off and put on his toupee whenever and under whatever cir-v cumstances he may desire.

The bases C will require renewal at relatively long periods-say every ten days or two weeks, since in time the adherence of the layer 10 to thescalp will become more or less impaired. However, such renewals will be much rarer than in the present practice.

lf desired, the Vfemale members 6 of the fasteners may be mounted in bases similar to the bases C illustrated in Fig. 3 for the male members of the fasteners. ln such case the female members are attached to the foundation of the toupee by adhesion.

ln Figz show at C another form of base for either the male or female members of the fasteners. The base C is composed of a layer 14 of plaster having both its faces 15 and 16 provided with a layer of adhesive. The flanged base of the fastener member is pressed down on the adhesive surface'l and a piece of gauze or other flexible material; through a hole in which the head or socket of the fastener member, as the case may be, protrudes, is pressed down on the surface 15, thus being anchored thereto and securing the fastener member to the base. The other adhesive surface 16 is used to attach the base C to the scalp or toupee.

fn Fig. 6 l show a soft rubber suction member C2 used as a base for the fastener member, the member being cemented or otherwise secured to the outer surface of the rubber. The base is then attached by suction adhesion to the scalp or toupee.

It is apparent therefore that my invention adds great convenience to the wearing of a toupee, a wig or any other head covering, and will overcome the very serious objections that many persons afflicted with baldness have to toupees and wigs.

A person who is bald frequently suffers from a good deal of discomfort at night, owing to his head being chilled. The use of a night cap which ties under the chin or one which fits around the head like a hat is a source of a good deal of discomfort. It is quite evident that a bald person may use a head covering consisting of a piece of flannel or other cloth of the proper size, attaching to the under side of the same the female fastener members 6 and attaching this cloth to his head in the same manner as he does his toupee, using the same male members 8 Which are attached to his head by the bases C.

It is evident that it requires a straight pull on a fastener to disenga-ge the same, and therefore the wearer must disengage the four fasteners one at a time. Therefore it is virtually impossible for the toupee to become accidentally loosened, as an accidental disengagement of a fastener is practically impossible, and the accidental disengagement of more than one fastener would be impossible.

What I desire to claim is 1. Means for securing toupees and other `\head coverings to the scalp comprising a two-part quickly attachable and detachable snap fastener, one part being attached to the scalp and the other part beingiattached to the head covering.

2. Means for securing toupees and other head coverings to the scalp comprising a tivo-part quickly attachable and detachable fastener, one part of said fastenerbeing attached to the toupee, and the other part being provided with an adhesive surface whereby it is fixed on the scalp.

3. Means for securing toupees and other head coverings to the scalp, comprising a two-part snap fastener, one member of the fastener being attached by adhesion to the scalp While the other member of the fastener is attached to the head covering.

el. Means for securing toupees and other head coverings to the scalp comprising a tivo-part snap fastener, one member of said fastener being attached to the head covering, and means for attaching the other member of the fastener by adhesion to the scalp.

5. Means for securing toupees and other head coverings to the scalp consisting of a two-part snap fastener, one of the members of said fastener being attached to the head covering, an adhesive plaster on which the other membe of said fastener is mounted and which is adapted to adhere to the scalp.

6. Means for securing toupees and other head coverings to the scalp which consists of a two-part snap fastener, one of the members of said fastener being attached to the head covering, a base upon which the other member of said fastener is mounted, and ad hesive means for attaching said last named member to the scalp.

7. Means for securing toupees and other head coverings to the scalp comprising tivopart snap fasteners, one member of each fastener being attached to the toupee and the other member having an adhesive surface by means of Which said member is attached to the scalp, the attachment or removal of the toupee being accomplished by the interen gagement or disengagement of the members of the fasteners Without detachment of the members from the scalp or toupee.

Signed at Portage, Pa., this 14th day of May, 1923.

JOSEPH M. NOEL. 

